Maynard, MA, USA: Beacon-Villager newspaper column on local history, observations on nature and recreational activities, plus an occasional health-related article. Columns from 2009-11 collected into book "MAYNARD: History and Life Outdoors." Columns from 2012-14 collected into book "Hidden History of Maynard." - David A. Mark

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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Mill Buildings Demolished at Clocktower

CORRECTION: End of third paragraph states that older, wooden buildings no longer exist. Historical Society says that one building was moved to Main Street, between Quarterdeck and RiverRock Grill, where it is now an apartment building.

Mill & Main has begun in earnest its plan to enlarge and
make more inviting access to the mill complex from Main Street, by tearing down Buildings 2A
and 10. The intent is to create an easy flow for foot traffic from the street
into the open spaces, which will include (hopefully) a variety of retail stores
and eateries. A description, map, images and a video are all posted at http://mill-and-main.com/#overview. Marketing
descriptions include "Where heritage has a heartbeat," and "All
work. And all play."

Building 10 of Maynard mill complex, in front of Building 12

If the plan succeeds, the net effect will be to more than
double the number of retail businesses on Main Street west of the river. Given that
there are currently more than a dozen empty retail spaces on Nason and Main
Streets east of the river, this does raise concerns about supply in excess of
demand. The expectation is that the very large remainder of Mill & Main
will be renting out to office and light industry businesses, and that this
increase in the work-related population of Maynard will supply the demand to
match the supply.

Building 10 almost completely gone, mid-March 2016. Across back is Building 2, the oldest still standing. Click on any photo to enlarge.

What was lost in the recent tear-down? Historical Society
records date both ex-buildings to 1887, during the era when Lorenzo Maynard was
Agent at the mill, having succeeding his father in 1885. However, there is
contradictory information. An image commemorating the 40th anniversary of the
mill, 1846-1886, appears to show both buildings already in place. A few years
earlier, the well-known aerial view image from 1879 shows what looks like Building
2A, but notBuilding 10. The oldest buildings still
standing, now collectively referred to as Building 2, date back as early as
1859. (Older buildings, dating back to 1846, were wood construction and no longer exist.)

Brickwork on Building 2A. Note headers every 8th row.

Both 2A and 10 were of brick and timber construction, two
stories tall, size roughly 15x40 yards. Each building had about 10,000 square
feet of floor space, and materials included roughly 100,000 bricks. (Estimates
for the entire complex are five to ten million bricks.) Sharp-eyed observers
can tell whether a brick-walled building is structurally supported by the brick
wall versus the brick serving only as a facade. In this instance, walls of the
destroyed buildings were structural in nature, three bricks thick. Outer- and
inner-facing bricks consisted of rows of lengthwise bricks - stretchers - but
tellingly, every seventh or eighth row had bricks end on - headers. The pattern
is known as American bond. This practice attached the surfaces of the wall to
the brick and mortar core.

An example of brick as facade is the four story apartment
building on Main Street,
next to McDonald's restaurant. This is actually a wood-frame building; the
brick facade making no structural contribution. Instead, the brick serves as a
waterproof, low maintenance, outer surface, and also stylistically blends into
Maynard's downtown core of brick buildings.

Removal of yellow brick chimney in October 1956.
There was a ladder up the outside. Men climbed to
the top to hammer pieces loose. Because of the
dangerous commute, they brought their lunches
with them. The entire process took 17 days.

The tear-downs of Buildings 2A and 10 were not the first
time that significant structures have been removed from the mill complex. Up
until 1956 the mill was graced by twin chimneys of near-equal height. One was removed
in October of that year by extremely hazardous means: men stood on scaffolding
affixed to the outside of the chimney and used sledgehammers to knock bricks
inward. A large hole made at the base allowed bricks and mortar to be hauled
away. The Historical Society has a series of photos taken over a two week
period showing the chimney getting progressively shorter and shorter.

At an
undetermined date the remaining chimney, no longer functioning as such, was
shortened a bit and capped. It now functions as a cell phone tower.

The aforementioned aerial image from 1879 shows two shorter chimneys
elsewhere on the property - both gone by 1915. The mill also had its own coal
gasification facility, to make gas for gaslight, now the site of the east end
of Building 5, but more on that another time.

Working title for this column was "And the walls come tumbling down." That is a line from the chorus of the gospel classic "The Battle of Jericho." A near match is "When the walls come tumblin' down," which is from the 1983 John Cougar Mellencamp song "Crumblin' Down." Which is not the same as "When the walls came tumbling down," by Def Leppard.

5 comments:

Hi, David. I don't see an email address for you anywhere, so I hope you don't mind this question here. Do you know what has happened to the magnificent desk in the rear room of Gruber's Furniture? It must go to someone or some organization who will cherish it and keep using it! Do you know if it has found a new home? Thanks!

Please do ask. I feel sure it has a future somewhere! I think an artist or craftsperson might find it perfect for holding supplies and tools. I hope so. I'll help look; it would be a shame for it to be demolished or hauled to the dump.